Written
by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin
Ben
Brookes, Portsmouth native, brings a distinctive sense of Englishness to his
debut release The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon that we haven’t encountered
for some time. He manages, however, to incorporate a bevy of American
influences into what he does and the effortless fusion of his influences is
crowned by a sense of self that comes through on every song. It’s a rather
bracing feat from someone so young, but the artist that emerges from this
studio release’s ten tracks is nothing less than fully developed and possessed
with musical certainty reaching far beyond his years. His choice to record the
album in the Midwestern United States rather than in England reflects his
desire for a cosmopolitan sound and he embodies the various strands running through
his music with singular and sincere charisma that makes it a highly enjoyable
and satisfying experience.
He’s
likable in every performance. The longing at the heart of “I Wanna Go Home”
comes, as well, a playful edge and few musical artists possess the talent to
juggle these disparate elements. Brookes does, however, and never appears to
break a sweat while doing so. It has a melody some might find a little
childish, but that’s part of its charm and its undeniably catchy. “Asleep in
Galilee” is, flat out, one of the finest moments on the release and has some
strong imagery distinguishing its lyric and playing out quite nicely against
the musical backing. There’s little question after listening to these two
tracks alone that Brookes is working with the best possible musical partners,
but he obliterates any lingering doubt with the track “Before Sunrise” and the
wonderful melody at the heart of the song will please anyone, even the most
demanding of cynics. The melody seems to further inspire an already fine vocal
and, at risk of cliché, Brookes makes you feel every word of this one. He sings
it like he means it.
“Look
Through My Eyes” and “Somewhere Around Eight” are the album’s finest rockers.
Rockers, in the context of this album, means a much more “visible” presence of
electric guitar, but it doesn’t mean long, winding guitar solos or crunchy
riffs. Instead, the lead guitar work spikes the songs with added emotional heft
and Brookes raises his emotive game as a singer to match the rougher texture.
The album’s last song “Shackles” is a great curtain closer for the album and
mixes a little of the approach discussed in the rockers with the customary
acoustic guitar base defining much of The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon.
Ben Brookes’ much more experience collaborators clearly hear the same thing in
his songwriting and performances and it’s a testament to his astonishing
development that seasoned professionals of such caliber want to join in with
this effort. It’s one hell of a ride.
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